The Sprout
Gigantic sunflowers in Lime Road
The newsletter for North Hinksey & Botley
Issue 121 October 2017
The Sprout
Issue 121, October 2017
Contents
3 Playing fields consultation
7 Botley Medical Practice PPG
11 Community fridge takes off
13 Seacourt – vanished village
17 Best of Botley awards party
18 Botley Food Fayre
19 West Way update
21 Brownies, Dementia Friends
23 Botley in World War 2
25 Everyone lived to tell the tale
29 ABC news
31 Summer Fun with the kids
35 Dreams of Steam
39 Branching out
41 Randoms
43 Local Organizations
From the Editor
There’s a good mix of information and stories this month. Find out the
results of last month’s consultation on the Playing Fields (p 3) – the
response was mainly positive – where we’ve got to with Mace (p 19) and
ABC (pp17 and 29), not to mention the Community Fridge (p 11). The
Neighbourhood Plan is shaping up, and will be coming before the public in
October. The leaflet inserted in the Sprout to draw this to your attention is
a first for us. (And no, we didn’t charge!) Did you take part in Botley
Bridges’ brilliant programme in the summer? – read about it on page 31.
Were your kids entertained by the new youth initiative, Botley Branches?
See page 39. For older readers there’s a useful update from the Patients
Group at the local medical centre (p 7). Were you at the Botley Food Fayre?
So was our roving reporter (p18). How about Martin Harris’s local history
exhibition, Botley in WW2? There’s an account on page 23, and it is
followed by a hilarious tale from the same period of a celebration that went
horribly wrong, taken from the Sprout archive (p 25). Looking backwards,
you can find out about the Seacourt village, which once gave its name to
Seacourt Stream and Hall (p13), and on page 35 you can read about a local
couple who followed their dream and built and ran model steam trains! It’s
all happening, and it’s all here in your favourite local mag. Happy reading!
Ag MacKeith
Playing Fields: results of public consultation
Thank you to all who took part in the recent public consultation run by
North Hinksey Parish Council. Parishioners were asked for their views on
a proposal by Matthew Arnold School (MAS) to use the football pitch and
hard-surface games area (MUGA) at the Louie Memorial upper field for
PE lessons during designated school hours, and occasionally for after-
school football fixtures between January and April. We also asked about
usage patterns and feelings about the current facilities at Louie Memorial
fields, which is valuable information for our ongoing work towards
improving parish-owned facilities.
Information about the MAS proposal was provided through a newsletter
delivered to all parish households, an article in the September Sprout,
copies of the newsletter on parish noticeboards, announcement on the
home page of the Council’s website, and multiple posts on the Council’s
Facebook page. Parishioners could give their views either through an
online survey link, or through comments sent directly to the Parish Clerk
by email or by post.
100 people took part in the
consultation: 88 through the online
survey, and 12 through direct
comments to the Clerk. Of the
online survey respondents, 81 gave
a postcode located within North
Hinksey parish. The results from
the 93 North Hinksey respondents
were presented at the full Council
meeting on 14th September and
are available on the Council’s
website (http://www.northhink
sey-pc.gov.uk).
Of North Hinksey respondents, 57
(61%) expressed support for the
school’s proposal to use the football
pitch and MUGA, 25 (27%) were
opposed to the proposal, and 11
(12%) were neutral or required
more information. Concerns raised
included the need to preserve open green space for informal use, the
impact of additional use on the quality of the football pitch, the need for
supervision of school children at all times, and the potential for increased
litter. Potential benefits cited included increased use of the fields by a
wider section of the community, supporting young people to take part in
physical activity, supporting the local secondary school, and contributions
from MAS being used to improve the quality of the football pitch.
The proposal was discussed again at full Council on 14th September,
mainly focused on two unresolved issues (how much MAS would be
charged for afterschool football pitch hire, and details of the football pitch
maintenance schedule that MAS would undertake). Assuming that these
issues have been addressed, the proposal will be voted on at the October
full Council meeting: Thursday 19th October, 8pm at Seacourt Hall.
Members of the public are welcome to attend.
Thank you again to all who took part in the consultation. We encourage
all parishioners to get involved in future consultation about improvements
to the Louie Memorial fields, particularly work towards the provision of a
new pavilion that will be undertaken across the next year.
Caroline Potter, Chair of NHPC Recreation & Amenities Committee
PPG Notes
Ways of delivering medical services, both in
hospital medicine and in general practice, are
continually evolving, and thus is the case with
the Botley Medical Practice.
In the Summer 2017 edition of this parish
magazine, Botley PPG reported on the work
of Marie Lloyd, Advanced Nurse Prescriber, in
the Botley Practice. We now report on the
work of S. Khurram Zahid, appointed as a
diagnostic physiotherapist though in reality his
role is much wider than this. I interviewed him
at the Kennington surgery in early September
2017 to find out more about his work in the
practice. S. Khurram Zahid, Diagnostic Physiotherapist
Having physiotherapists working in primary care is a recent development
nationally, and a completely new development locally. Khurram was
appointed in April 2017 and now works two days a week in the practice,
Mondays at the Kennington surgery and Wednesdays at Botley. His
hours, somewhat unusual, are 7.00 am to 2.00 pm. He tells me that his
7.00 am slots are always filled; clearly early morning appointments suit
some people who are in employment. All his appointments are for 30
minutes, which allows him time to make a full assessment of a patient’s
condition, arrange tests as appropriate, offer advice and administer
treatments (notably injections) and make an onward referral if necessary.
A physiotherapist working independently in primary care as Khurram is
described as an ‘Extended Scope Practitioner’ (ESP). Most
physiotherapists working as ESPs work in secondary care (hospital
practice) notably with surgeons, rheumatologists or neuro-surgeons. To
be recognised as an ESP, a physiotherapist needs to have had a
minimum of 5 years’ experience, particularly in musculo-skeletal
medicine, and to have had special training, for example in the
administration of injections, including ultrasound-guided injections.
Continuing professional development (CPD) keeps them up to date.
Khurram sees his primary role as the assessment of patients with
musculo-skeletal disorders, both acute and long-term. He has the
authority to refer patients for blood tests, X-Rays, ultrasounds and MRI
scans and the further authority to refer patients to specialists, such as
orthopaedic surgeons or rheumatologists, or to other physiotherapist
colleagues for ongoing treatment.
Before I met Khurram, I had imagined that a physiotherapist working in
primary care might be seeing a number of patients for massage, etc., on
a regular basis over several weeks or months. This is not Khurram’s role,
and indeed if he were working in this way his clinics would quickly become
clogged up with repeat attenders, and an enormously long wait to see
him would develop. As it is, he can often see new patients within a few
days, and within three weeks at most.
He describes himself as a ‘one-stop-shop’ in the assessment,
management and onward referral of patients most of whom have
musculo-skeletal problems, whether primary disorders affecting neck,
shoulder, hips, knees or feet, or secondary problems arising, for example,
as a result of a history of arthritis.
As regards treatment he may suggest and administer injections or may
devise and recommend a regime of exercises, but otherwise the
emphasis is on a full assessment and onward referral.
Khurram’s presence in the practice is providing expert assessment and
management of a group of patients whose presentations are common
and take up much medical time. In doing so he provides a more effective
service as well as freeing up medical time. His presence in the staff group
is much to be welcomed.
Annual General Meeting
The AGM of Botley Patient Participation Group will take place at
Botley Surgery on Saturday 21st October at 10.00 am. Anyone
registered with the practice is welcome to attend.
The AGM will consist of an annual report, elections and any other
statutory business followed by a talk by Andrea Buckingham titled “Pilates
/ Yoga – are they good for a healthy body and life?”
The PPG is keen to increase and widen its membership. Anyone
interested in joining the PPG should email Caroline Jones, practice
manager on carolinejones3@nhs.net or call me, Harry Dickinson, on
01865 862177 to discuss the work and functioning of the PPG. To contact
the PPG please email: botleyppg@gmail
Harry Dickinson, Chair
This article is written on behalf of Botley PPG. The views expressed are not
necessarily those of the Medical Practice.
Community fridge update
Thank you to everyone who has been bringing food to the community
fridge: magnificent courgettes, glorious apples, artisanal bread from
Gail’s Jericho, toiletries from a company that helps people to clear their
homes… Do please keep bringing good quality food that is not cooked,
or meat or fish, or past its ‘use by’ date (past ‘best before’ is ok). Also if
you ‘like’ the fridge’s Facebook page, you’ll get a message when there is
a glut of food in the fridge.
St. P&P hosted the first UK community fridge meeting on 12 September,
co-run by Hubbub and Botley-based Food for Charities. Twenty-six
people came from as far away as Wales and Norwich. Most of them were
in the process of setting up a fridge. Hubbub promotes quite full-on
fridges, with paid coordinators, links with large supermarkets etc. A lot of
the participants seemed relieved to see from our fridge that they can also
be modest and cheap to set up.
Do come visit, bring food, take food, and tell others about the fridge. It’s
in St Peter and Paul Church, West Way, Mon–Sat 9–5, Sun 11–5.
Riki Therivel
Seacourt – the village that vanished
Seacourt Tower is a well-known local landmark. The reason for the name
has largely been forgotten, but when you drive along the A34 just north
of the Botley interchange you are driving over the site of Seacourt village.
If you had been travelling in the same direction in 1300, you would be
walking along a rough cobbled track through a small village with a church,
stone-built houses and probably an ale-house and a manor house.
How do we know this? The site was first excavated in 1939 but work was
stopped by the war. A fuller excavation was carried out in 1958 in
advance of the new A34 bypass road. These digs did not cover the whole
site but more can be seen in aerial photographs. Even now, one large
pasture field between the A34 and the Seacourt Stream (just before the
turn-off to Wytham) still shows the pattern of buildings and pathways. If
you walk along the back road to Wytham from the entrance to Wytham
Woods for about 200 yards, you will be standing on the western edge of
the village which lay between here and the stream. This road originally
ran through the site but was moved westwards to make room for the
bypass.
The first mention of Seacourt is in a charter of 957 when it was given to
Abingdon Abbey by the crown. It was held at various times by the
Beaumont family and then the Harcourts. In the Doomsday Book, about
1086, Seacourt had 27 adult inhabitants which was about average in size
for a village in this area. Although the land around was difficult to farm,
being clay to the east and stony woodland to the west, the village was
well-sited where the then main route from Oxford to the west forded the
Seacourt Stream before running up over Wytham Hill (the Botley
causeway was not built until 1530), and also close to the pilgrimage site
of St Margaret's well at Binsey.
However, in 1439 it was reported that there were only two houses left
standing and the church was a ruin. What had happened? In 1348–9
plague struck England and it is thought that between a third and half of
the population died in the 'Black Death'. Many deserted villages date from
this period and none of the many objects found at Seacourt can be dated
any later than about 1400. These are now housed in the Ashmolean. The
impact of the plague was probably exacerbated by the poor quality of the
land and the remaining inhabitants may well have decided to find new
lives in the growing
city of Oxford.
The excavations
uncovered the
foundations of a
number of houses
and farm buildings,
mostly poorly built
of dry stone. These
would have been
single-storied and
thatched. The
church was better
built and still lies
under the field. The
possible manor
house which lies next to the stream has never been excavated.
Since then, extensive work has been carried out in deserted villages
elsewhere which, coupled with modern archaeological techniques, have
told us much about life in the Middle
Ages but it would be fascinating to
know more about our own vanished
village. The photograph above was
taken from the air in May 1939. You
can find the excavation reports on-
line at:http://oxoniensia.org/oxo_vol
ume.php?vol=5 and at http://oxon
iensia.org/oxo_volume.php?vol=26
John Clements
‘The Best of Botley’ awards 2017
Do you know someone who’s doing something wonderful in our
community? Has someone helped you, or your family, or do they do
something that you think is making life better for us? It’s time to
celebrate those unsung local heroes. ‘The Best of Botley’ is coming! It’s
being organized by the Association for Botley Communities (ABC).
The aim is simple – to recognize and celebrate work done
voluntarily by individuals and groups in and around North Hinksey
parish. We are inviting nominations for people and groups who have
served their community. Anyone can nominate anyone they think
deserves recognition. On December 15th we will be holding a party
which will include a short awards ceremony to celebrate all the
good work being done locally.
The categories for awards are still being finalised but will include:
1. Community Group
2. Young person
3. Retired person
4. Local business support for the community
5. Conservation / environment project
6. Sports group
7. Volunteer of the Year
If you’d like to nominate someone email ABC Chair Chris Church:
chrischurch@cooptel.net, and send him:
• The name of the person:
• Category (see above):
• Organization (if appropriate):
• Contact details for person or group (phone or email):
And critically:
• Why this person deserves the award (maximum 120 words):
If you’d like to help make this a success, we are looking for a few more
volunteers to help plan and run the evening party – email Chris again if
you’d like to be involved.
Botley Food Fayre
What a treat, despite the annoying spelling, suggestive of – what? An old-
fashioned market place full of merry widows in aprons, shouting rude
jokes across their stalls of wholesome produce?
Well, this is
Botley, so
we’re more
refined than
that, but
there were
certainly lots
of stalls in
and around
Ss Peter
and Paul’s
church on
16th
September, and the produce was as wholesome as anyone could wish:
truly delicious home-made beef and chicken pies – eggs and honey –
meat from the kind of small farmer who operates outside the ken of the
supermarkets – a chance to bone up on chillis with the help of the home-
grown chilli expert, to sample his range of powerful pastes and thrilling
chilli jams – the mustard stall with more varieties than Bertie Bott’s Every
Flavour Beans (see photo) – every shape and style of artisan bread – and
many more. Great to see the Oxford Food Bank in attendance as well.
And did I mention the cosmopolitan selection of foods-to-go? You could
eat souvlakis from Greece, jerk chicken from Jamaica, churros from
Brazil, a whole range of delicate Indian curries, ice creams from Italy,
French crepes as well as the usual delicious home-grown sausages and
burgers. Then there were the baking competitions – the picture shows
some prize-winning inventive cup-cakes – and the children’s corner.
All in all, it was a heroic achievement, and the church should be
applauded for their successful efforts to remind us that it’s still fun to live
in Botley despite the looming shadow of the redevelopment of the
shopping centre hanging over us. AgM
West Way update
In September Mace submitted amendments to their application for
temporary changes of use for the Grant Thornton and Elms Court
buildings to house the supermarkets, Baptist Church and Seacourt Hall.
The changes were in response to highways issues raised by Oxfordshire
County Council, cycling groups and others. There was a period of two
weeks of consultation and at the time of writing that period was about to
close and we understand the application will be discussed at the Vale’s
Planning Meeting on 4th October. So look out for more information on
the District Council’s decision after that date.
We will be contacting Mace following that meeting to find out more
whatever the decision. If the application is passed then we will be asking
for a timeline and will post any information on our website, Facebook and
in our e-newsletter. Our addresses are: westwayconcern.wordpress.com/
facebook.com/westwayconcern and twitter.com/westwayconcern. To join
our mailing list, email: Westwayconcern.wordpress.com;
Lorna Berrett, co-chair, West Way Community Concern
Brownies become Dementia Friends
2nd Botley Brownies finished off the Disability Awareness badge by
learning how to be “Dementia Friends”. Our expert was called Claire who
came along one evening from Guidepost, Witney to help us all
understand a little about dementia. She had lots of age-appropriate
activities for us to do.
Sitting in a circle we were given printed words for daily activities which
everyone does each day without realizing how much thought is involved.
For example, getting ready for bed. We listed the activities and thoughts
that needed to happen in the correct order and then Claire threw her ball
of yellow wool to the person with that action on her sheet, before it was
thrown to the next person with the appropriate activity on her sheet.
A complicated network of thought processes ensued even with such a
simple task as getting ready for bed. She explained that when someone
is suffering from dementia, perhaps just missing out one item can throw
the whole simple task into chaos and confusion. For example, forgetting
to take off a layer of clothes before putting on the pyjamas caused Claire
to get out her big scissors and cut the line of wool to and from “remove
trousers and under-
wear” causing an
outcry as the once
well-tensioned web
then started to sag
and hang in a
dejected manner.
She taught us to
spot odd or unusual
behaviour and to tell
an adult about it. At
the end Claire
surprised us all by
presenting us each
with a little badge
and a leaflet. Here
we are all declaring
that we are all now qualified Dementia Friends.
Lucy Howes
World War Two Exhibition
I would like to say a big thank you to all those who helped with this
exhibition as well as all the many visitors who called in to see the displays
and enjoy the refreshments at Cumnor Old School in September. Our
donations raised £314.06 for the Oxford Hospitals General Fund. The
official opening was performed by five amazing people, all in their
nineties, who had lived through the war. One of those was Peggy Bates,
now aged 97, who has lived
in the Botley area all her life
and did nursing for the war
effort. The photo shows her
(in the middle) in Red Cross
uniform.
People were very
interested in the prisoner of
war (PoW) camp at the top
of Harcourt Hill. One
gentleman who visited,
Matthew Smalden, is
involved at the Soldiers of
Oxfordshire Museum, and
has much information on
that camp. (He is also very
keen on the great work that
Ray Rook has done on the
war memorials in St
Lawrence’s Church.) I told
our local expert on that,
Darren Blase, so there will
be more details to come. Former Head of Oxfordshire Studies and local
resident Malcolm Graham was intrigued to read about of one of the
prisoners, the late Hans Kling Berg whose wife Jean was a local lady
(with thanks to Michael Baston for obtaining that display).
It was my “special” birthday that weekend – not many people could say
that they held a public event to mark such an occasion! I’m not a
professional historian or exhibition organiser so perhaps a holiday or
meal out might have been easier! Martin Harris
Everyone Lived to Tell the Tale
Here’s a funny story from the Sprout archive, Inspired by Martin’s WW2
Exhibition, and told in Jean Harvey’s own words.
This is a true story related to me by my husband, Martin Harvey.
Martin was one of the children living in the North Hinksey village at the
time of this incident.
The story began in 1945 when a resident of North Hinksey village named
Joe Barson, came home from serving his country after the 2nd World
War. During his time in the army he had been captured and became a
prisoner of war. Following his release from the army, Joe returned home
to live with his parents in the village. He was often seen sitting on the
bank opposite the village green playing his guitar while yodelling and
singing country and western songs to the village children.
Previously he had appeared on the Carol Levis television show, a talent
discovery show similar to the Britain's Got Talent TV show of today.
Joe decided to throw a party for the villagers and their children to
commemorate his homecoming, to be held in the Botley Women's
Institute hall. The party had been a great success and enjoyed by
everyone until early evening. People started feeling very ill, some had
fainted, others were lying on the grass outside the Hall being violently
sick.
A 999 call was sent out, and soon a fleet of ambulances arrived and
started ferrying the sick people to the Radcliffe Infirmary Hospital. Martin
and his family hadn't seemed to have been affected by the illness, so
decided to walk home to their cottage opposite the Fishes pub.
But by the time they got home, they too had started to feel extremely ill.
His mother and father had started vomiting/diarrhoea. Soon the whole
family was affected.
Their neighbour, on seeing how ill the family had become, crossed the
road to the Fishes to phone for an ambulance. This created its own
problem: due to the many casualties from the party, all the ambulances
were in use. The Police were alerted to help with this extraordinary
dilemma. The solution was to send the Black Maria (police van). This was
the only vehicle large enough to transport the family to the hospital.
Martin can remember seeing his father being helped into the van. The
poor man was still vomiting profusely, losing his false teeth in the
process!!! His poor mum was following, bowl in hand, vomiting too. She
saw her husband pointing to his mouth, and realized he had lost his teeth.
Her only option was to rummage around on the floor to find the precious
teeth. On finding the teeth, a quick rub on her hanky before slipping them
into her pocket!!
Once all were on board, the Maria set off on its destination!
Everyone from the party spent the night in hospital feeling very ill, some
being given intravenous infusions to rehydrate them. Fortunately every
one survived the ordeal, and next day all were discharged from hospital.
The party drew the attention of the local press, making headlines in the
Oxford Mail. For months after the incident, the residents of the village
were still talking about the party! An
enquiry found the ice-cream to be the
culprit. The supplier had stored it in
metal containers which had gone rusty,
causing the contents to be
contaminated. The food poisoning
which resulted could have been fatal!!!
The sad thing was this special treat that
Joe had organized for the villagers was
to become his nightmare. Ice cream
was a luxury after the war, the intention
being a treat for all to enjoy. What a pity
that Joe's kind gesture ended so
dramatically.
Thank Goodness all survived what
could have been a disaster. But
everyone lived to tell the tale. Oh happy memories!!!!
Pat Harvey
News for the Association for Botley Communities:
going green and a Christmas party!
ABC is still waiting to be accepted by the Charity Commission as a CIO
(a Charitable Incorporated Organisation): one of our objectives –
supporting community development in the area – is apparently not
necessarily charitable! We have revised this and await developments.
We’re not sitting around doing nothing while we wait. At our meeting in
September a number of projects were agreed. These include:
Developing a leaflet about our green space and its history. This might
include a guided walk linking all our green spaces. We’d hope to work on
this with groups that have specific interest in some of the green areas.
Martin Harris and Chris Church are leading work on this and would
welcome other people who want to be involved.
Hedgehog Street is a national initiative encouraging local people to take
easy steps to make their gardens welcoming to these threatened
creatures and to create small holes in fences to allow them to travel
safely. We’re looking at how we take this forward in Botley.
20’s plenty: A group of people have approached ABC to support a
20mph speed limit for all residential streets. This is already standard in
the city of Oxford and many other towns and cities. With growing traffic
levels in our area, this seems to make sense and we have asked the
interested people to come up with some ideas that we can work on.
Air Pollution: Both our primary schools are now involved in work on this
and many different groups are involved city-wide. We discussed how far
ABC should be focusing on this and felt that at present we should support
existing activity as the schools have momentum.
We have also agreed to organize a Christmas Event! A celebration in
Botley seems like a good idea after a year of frustration around West
Way. We are aiming to do this on
Friday 15th Dec. – the venue will
depend on what community space
is available at the time. Part of the
evening will be ‘Best of Botley’
community awards, but we’d like to
have some local entertainment –
has Botley got Talent?
Chris Church
Summer Fun with the
Kids
Summer as a stay-at-home-parent is an interesting time. On the one
hand, there are (hopefully) long, dry days that you can spend out-and-
about, exploring the city and the countryside. On the other, there are the
days when the weather is not so good, or when your little people are –
frankly – bored of you. With pre-schools, nurseries and a lot of playgroups
shutting down or running pared-down schedules for the summer break, it
can be difficult to find local, frugal ways to entertain children.
Thank heavens then for the Botley Bridges Summer Programme, and
especially their ‘Crafts in the Park’ sessions. Every Thursday over the
summer holiday they’ve set up camp at a different local playground, and
laid on various activities for
children and parents. The tour has
been to the playgrounds at
Cumnor, Dean Court, Cumnor
Hurst, Botley Park, Oatlands Road
Rec and the Louie Memorial Fields.
It’s been a fantastic opportunity to
try out playgrounds that one might
not be familiar with, and to meet
people who have at least one thing
in common – we’re all doing our
best to raise our children well. The sessions we went to were very well
attended, with at least two dozen families from all sorts of cultures and
backgrounds. And of course the children had a great time, out in the fresh
air, getting a lot of exercise, socializing and showing off to everyone and
anyone.
For a rather shy person, it’s hugely
valuable to know there’s a place to go
where you’re made to feel welcome,
with the chance to chat to other parents
that you get to know over time, and even
get made a welcome cup of coffee. I
understand that it’s important for
children to socialize with others their
own age, to make their own friends,
learn to settle minor disagreements.
But get-togethers like this are also really worthwhile for parents, too. It’s
good to have somewhere you can go
during the day where the main topic of
conversation isn’t ”Who Is The Best
Octonaut?” And it's especially nice – as
a stay-at-home – to have a mental break
from having to come up with ideas for
entertaining little people: just get them
there and let them loose on activities
that someone else has thought of and
set up.
I'm sorry to admit that we didn't really
make use of the Children's Centre
before it closed down – we've only
started to go to Botley Bridges events in the last few months. It's a shame
that we left it so long. The facilities and resources at the centre are very
good, especially the outdoor play area (Eliza and William would happily
spend all day in the sand pit). Sue,
Hayley and the other staff and
volunteers who help run the sessions
are always very welcoming, and make
sure they get round and say Hello to
everyone who goes. Botley Bridges is
an organisation that's doing a lot of
work for the local community, and could
do with all the support we can give back
to them. It’s certainly something we’ll be
making more use of from now on.
Botley Bridges run a weekly programme of sessions: Monday 1:15–3:15
is Chatterboxes & Bookworms (for children aged 0–5); the Health Visitor
Drop-In is on Wednesday 1:00–2:30; Friday morning 9:00–11:30 is Play
& Learn (children aged 0–5); Friday afternoons has Bumps to Babies
(babies under a year) from 1 to 3pm; and the first Saturday of every
month, 10:00–12:00 is SaturDads (dads and male carers with children
aged 0–6). Sessions are £2.00 per family or 50p concessions (except for
the Health Visitor Drop-In service which is free). See
www.botleybridges.org or www.facebook.com/botleybridges for more
information.
Andy Marsh
Dreams of Steam
This is a story of engineering excellence, childish delight and legal
requirements, all hidden in Joy and Richard Brown’s quiet Botley house.
Joy’s hobby used to be needlework. About 20 years ago, she realised
that she couldn’t feel the needle any more and wanted something bigger
to work on. At the time, her husband Richard was working at the model
shop in Abingdon, and an advert came out for a kit for a 5-inch railway
coach. Richard brought the advert home and asked her if this was big
enough, and Joy’s first reaction was “I couldn’t do that”. Richard replied
“Of course you could”.
The kit came as a box of metal parts with a few pages of explanation. “My
learning curve was extremely steep,” admits Joy. “Often we had to
imagine what the carriage should look like, so we photographed a coach
at Didcot Railway Centre.”
Towards the end of that project, Joy thought that she needed something
to pull the coach. Just then, an advert appeared for a small locomotive.
Richard brought it home. Joy: “I couldn’t do that”. Richard: “Of course
you could”, and they ordered
the kit. “The advert said it
could be assembled with a
screwdriver and a spanner,”
says Joy, “but in fact the
locomotive also took a lathe,
a milling machine, a drilling
machine… and three years to
assemble”.
Now, a steam locomotive has
a pressurized boiler, and
even a miniature locomotive
comes under the
government’s Pressure
Systems Safety Regulations.
So before Joy could run her
locomotive, in 1999, she had
to get it officially tested, and
Cutteslowe Park was the
nearest place for this. The team there welcomed them, tested the
boiler, and Joy and Richard have been there ever since.
Within a year of joining, Joy had taken on the COSME (City of Oxford
Society of Model Engineers) magazine, “The Link”. Then Richard
decided in 2000 that he would like to build an engine which, according to
Joy, “had to be bigger than mine”. It was supposed to take eighteen
months of evenings and weekends, but in fact it took Richard ten years
to assemble his and get it working properly. Whereas Joy’s engine can
pull eight people, Richard’s can pull at least sixteen and has, by now, run
for more than 1000 miles.
They are currently working on yet another one, and that has also taken
narly ten years so far, with more to come. But it is a thing of beauty:
The locomotives are used to pull trains at COSME’s Cutteslowe Park
Miniature Railway. The society was based at Blenheim until 1987, when
the Duke decided that it wanted the miniature railway to run full time,
which the volunteers couldn’t do. At the same time, Oxford City Council
were looking for something to happen at Cutteslowe Park… and the
miniature railway has been at its one acre site there ever since. There
are two tracks – one at ground level which can run up to two trains at a
time and a higher level raised track which can run up to five trains at a
time. COSME has four locomotives, and has just built new carriages for
the raised track, designed from scratch to a very high specification. They
also have a lottery funded carriage which can carry a wheelchair.
“The trains run on Wednesdays and Sundays,” says Joy. “We can easily
have over 1000 passengers on a day. We also spend much of Saturday
at the site. There can be up to 20 volunteers on a Saturday, gardening,
maintaining the engines and track, training and doing the paperwork.”
The train timetables are at www.cosme.org.uk.
“We have to abide by lots of safety rules,” adds Richard. “I’m a boiler
tester, which is an official job. The steam boilers of the locomotives are
powered by coal and could explode. They could also generate sparks.
Carriages could detach from the locomotive, so we have to put in
measures to prevent that. We also have to issue tickets under the
Conditions of Carriage. COSME is a limited company, and we have to
keep proper accounts.”
For safety reasons, the members’ locomotives can’t be kept on site, so
Richard and Joy bought a vehicle large enough to carry and store them.
So watch for the larger-than-usual car backing very carefully out of a
Botley drive, on its way to delight visitors to Cutteslowe with miniature
engineering marvels… and visit the park to ride behind them.
Riki Therivel
LOCAL PLANNING APPLICATIONS
P17/V2300/T56
Highways Land Junction of West Way
and North Hinksey Lane. Instal a 15
metre high pole supporting 300mm
diameter dishes with ancillary equipment
cabinets, etc.
16 August
Target decision
date: 10 Oct
P17/V2283/LDP
61 Cedar Road. Proposed rear single
storey extension to kitchen.
22 August
TDD: 17 Oct
P17/V2357/PDO
Riverside Court 9 West Way. Prior
approval for change of use of existing
offices to residential 36 apartments.
25 August
TDD: 20 Oct
P17/V2385/HH
25 Hurst Rise Road. Single storey rear
extension.
31 August
TDD:26 Oct
P17/V2428/PDH
56 Cedar Road. Partly demolish
outbuilding and create rear extension.
31 August
TDD: 12 Oct
P17/V2205/PDH
8 Raleigh Park Road. A single-storey
rear extension.
4 September
TDD: 16 Oct
P17/V2449/FUL
The Thatched House, Stanton Road.
Demolish house, sheds, car port & pool.
Erect new house with indoor pool and
separate garage.
4 September
TDD: 30 Oct
Branching out
This summer saw a weekly Pop Up Café at the Louie
Memorial Pavilion run as a social enterprise – the
Branches Pop Up Café involved young people in planning,
preparing and serving delicious homemade food to the
community. Every
Thursday there was a set
menu with a vegetarian
and halal dish, and fresh
baking and
cakes. Supported by a
team of committed and
dedicated volunteers who
gave hours of their time,
this was made into a safe
and rewarding venture for
young people. We were so
lucky with the weather;
every Thursday was glorious! The photo shows Branches customers
enjoying lunch in the sun. Seven
young people were involved and
over the course of five weeks they
learned about food safety, food
preparation, customer service, team
work, and cash handling, as well as
bringing their own unique talents
and qualities to make everything run
smoothly even under pressure –
they are AMY, KADER, LIBBY,
MAX, MOLLIE, PAIGE and TEGAN.
Branches Young People’s Support
Service is a social enterprise set up
to do youth work in Botley and North
Hinksey. We hope to open a Youth
and Community Café during the
West Way redevelopment with the
ethos ‘Serving the Community with
Young People at its Heart’. The
vision is of a thriving community
focused Café that offers a safe and nurturing place for young people after
school and in the
evenings where they can
socialise and learn
skills. We aim to serve
the wider community and
the construction
workforce during the day,
generating income to
support youth work and
youth enterprises.
The Summer Pop Up
Café project was
supported financially by The Sprout and by SOHA (the photo above
shows Paige and Max serving our SOHA VIPs), and we gratefully
acknowledge this support, as well as the support of Matthew Arnold
School in promoting the project. If you want to find out more about
Branches, visit our web-site www.branchesyouth.uk. For specific
information call me on 0755 798 1769 or email diane@branchesyouth.uk.
Diane Long, Director
Randoms
Have your say on the draft Neighbourhood Plan
10am to 4pm on Sunday 15th October in Seacourt Hall
After many sleepless nights, our hard-working team of volunteers has
pulled together an outline version of the North Hinksey Parish
Neighbourhood Plan, and we want you to tell us what you think about it.
Drop in to talk to our volunteers about the latest versions of our policies
that will help to shape future development in this area for many years to
come. You will have seen the leaflet inserted in this month’s Sprout, and
you can find more details on our website at www.nhinkseynp.org.uk .
David Kay, Secretary of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group
New Scout Group
Are you 10–14 years old? We have just reopened the 4th Oxford Scout
Troop on Arnold's Way and are looking for 10–14 year olds to join us.
Scouting is open to all regardless of background, ethnicity and gender so
please come along on a Thursday evening, 7–9pm, and get involved in
lots of different activities including fire-lighting, kayaking, camping,
fencing, rifle shooting, cooking and games plus many more. Not sure?
Come along for a taster session one Thursday and see what you think.
For further information contact thursdayscoutshelen@gmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
APPLE DAY IS ON 8TH OCTOBER, 2–5PM
BUT IT WON’T BE AT SOUTH VIEW AS
ADVERTISED, BECAUSE OF THE
BUILDING WORKS
INSTEAD IT WILL BE IN THE COMMUNITY
ORCHARD, NORTH HINKSEY LANE (W.I. HALL IF WET). SO COME
WITH ALL THE FAMILY, BRINGING ALONG YOUR BUCKETS AND
BOXES OF APPLES TO JUICE AND SHARE, NOT FORGETTING
CONTAINERS TO PUT THE JUICE IN, AND JOIN IN THE FUN. APPLES
IDENTIFIED TOO.
Feminism for Dads
Sat 7 Oct, West Oxford Community Centre
Here’s an interesting new initiative that could bring comfort to modern
fathers who really want to do the right thing, be supportive of their
partners, and love their children, but could do with some outside help with
their efforts. What does it mean to be a good dad? This workshop offers
support to build a thriving network of great dads who can drive change to
create a more balanced and equal world for their kids. There’s a charge,
but it’s not huge. You can find out more from the Facebook page.
North Hinksey Lane – the Old Manor House
The new owner of Pat Halliday’s Old Manor House is hoping to create an
archive of its history, and would welcome local input. Do you know
anything of the history of this lovely house, or have any stories about
things that have happened there? If so please get in touch via the Sprout,
and we will put you in contact with the owner
Lunch Club needs You
Botley Over-60s lunch club meets every other Thursday when we
prepare, cook, and serve a two-course meal to local older people in the
Seacourt Hall. We are looking to expand our team of volunteers so can
you spare some hours on alternate Thursday mornings? If so, please
pop in to the Seacourt Hall around 10.30 am on one of the following dates
and we can discuss further: 5th October; 19th October; 2nd November.
Many thanks!
Looking for a Leader
4th Oxford Scouts are now looking for a Scout Leader, possibly as a job
share. If you’re interested or would like more information please speak to
your Beaver, Cub or Scout or Explorer Leader or contact Chris Goodwin
on 07817 543725; email chris.goodwin@oxonscouting.org.uk.
Organizations: If your organization is not listed here, please send details
to editor@thesprout.org.uk or telephone 724452 for inclusion in future
issues. telephone 724452 for inclusion in future issues.
1st Botley Brownies
Girls aged 7–10
2nd Botley Brownies
Girls aged 7–10
4th Oxford Scout Group
Beavers, Cub Scouts, Scouts
15th Oxford Scout Group
Boys and girls welcome
Badminton Club
Books on Wheels R.V.S.
Botley Baby & Toddler
Group
Botley Boys & Girls F.C.
Football teams from ages 8-16
Botley Health Walks
Botley Library
Botley Singers
Chair-based Exercise Class
Community Fridge
Cumnor Choral Society
Cumnor Chess Club
Cumnor & District Historical
Society
Cumnor Gardening Club
Fit Steps – exercise based
on dance
Harmony InSpires, Ladies'
Acappella Singing Group
Hill End Volunteer Team
Let’s Sing! – singing group
Morris Dancing – Cry Havoc
Mum and Baby Yoga for
babies from 6 wks to crawling
N Hinksey after school club
N Hinksey Art Group
N Hinksey Bellringers
N Hinksey Conservation
Volunteers
N Hinksey, Friends of
N Hinksey Horticultural
Society
N Hinksey Parish Council
N Hinksey Youth Club
Over Sixties Lunch Club
Oxford Flood Alliance
Oxford Flower Arranging Club
Oxford Otters
Oxford Rugby Club
Oxford Sports Lawn Tennis
Club, N Hinksey
Parkinson’s Disease Soc
Raleigh Park, Friends of
Royal Voluntary Service
(West Way Day Centre)
Saturdads
Botley Bridges
Shotokan Karate club
Weight Watchers
West Oxford Bowls Club
West Oxford Taekwon Do
Club
West Oxford U3A
Which Craft?
Women’s Institute (Botley)